Method of treating peat-bogs to extract the water from the peat in the bogs



UNITED sTA'rEs TFEQH WILLIAM WATSON CAMP, OF STBATFOED, ONTARIO, CANADA. 1

METHOD OF TREATING FEAT-BUGS T0 EXTRACT THE WATER FROM THE FEAT IN" THE BUGS. a

No Drawing.v

To all whom it may concern:

7 Be it known that I, WILLIAM WATSON CAMP, of the city of Stratford, in the county of Perth, in the Province of. Ontario, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Treating Peat-Bogs to Extractthe Water from the Peat in the Bogs, of which the-following is the specification.

My invention relates to an improved method of treating peat bogs to extract the water from the peat in the bog and primarily compress the peat, and the object of of the invention is to separate the water from the peat and thereby enable the water to evaporate or to be drained 0E and the pea't'removed with a minimum amount of moisture, so that it may be compressed where desired by a suitable machine into blocks for fuel or other purposes.

A. further object is to effect this treatment of the bog with a minimum amount of power able peat bogs tobe utilized in a commercial way, which has heretofore not been found practical on account of the exorbitant cost of treatment, which has rendered peat as a fuel an impossible competitor with. other fuels, such as coal. I Y I To effect these objects I follow the follow in method:

T firstexcavate the bog by any suitable excavating machine and for any predetermined width and depth according to' the capacity of the machine throwing the excavated peat upwardly into a suitable macerator from which it is precipitated back again into the bog behindthe machine.

It is then preferably packed by a suitable packing machine, so that it practically'occupies the same or less space than what it formerly occupied in its natural state in the bo Fifter the packing has been accomplished and the surface rendered firm again Ipreferably treat it with a suitable perforating machine consisting of a series of rods held in plates. These rods are preferably placed about two inches apart and the plates to which they are secured are given an oscillating movement under pressure, whereby the rods practically trowel the interior contour of the hole and thereby permit of the ready Withdrawal of the rods.

This action of the rods and the machine Specification of Letters Patent. iatentad Ben. 13, 1?}21. Application filed March a, 1920. Seria1 No. 864,273.

whereby the plates carrying the rods are made to travel and are given the deslred movement and pressure form no feature in the present invention .but will be made the subject matter'of a separate application.

It is essential, however, that this perforation of the surface of the bog be performed and I find in practice that the desired depth. to make the holes is approximately twelve to fifteen inches.

While 1 preferably perforate the newly,

convenient time such as in the spring of the year, it being, of course, necessary that 1t be done when the bogis wet. g

The result of this perforation'is to compress thepeat and squeeze the vwater there from,so that the water will occupythe holes quence the evaporation of the water is facilit-ated to the greatest extent and I. find in practice that evaporation will actually take place so rapidly that the holes are practically free from water on a good dry day.

within three or four hours practically as quickly as evaporation would take place if the holes were made in clay.

After the-water has been evaporated as aforesaid I then preferably plow the sur-[ face of the bog so treated leaving the fur rows longitudinally in their natural state afterbeing plowed so that the air and sun will further remove the moisture. The perforations in the furrows allow of the circulation of the air, and, therefore, materially,

These 'made by the rods aforesaid. As a consetransferred to any suitable compressing" plant, where they may be manufactured into blocks, thereby greatly reducing the bulk and making the peat suitable for transshipment.

When the peat is first plowed up it will dry down to about thirty per cent. moisture and packed as hereinbefore described is lighter than water. In fact in a peat bog ioo and it will, therefore, be understood that it under ordinary conditions it is floating in i the water in the hog, but after being excavated, macerated and packed it then becomes heavier than water and practically impervious to water and thereby sinks to the bottom of the bog where if the surface of the ground is uneven it will follow the contour of the surface and thereby force all the excess water at the bottom of the bog out and take its place.

Such a method as I describe is revolutionary in the peat industry asall artificial drying is dispensed with and the great expense incident thereto; A hog of one hun dred acres and eight feet in depth, which would ordinarily take thirty years to obtain all the peat therefrom can now'be uti- 7 cording to methods now employed.

' iVhat I claim as my invention is l. The method of treating peat bogs to extract the water from the peat therein 7 consisting in excavating the bog uninterrupted step by step the desired depthto' form a cavity, then macerating the excavated peat and then feeding such peat again into such cavity, which is continually formed by the ejection of the previously excavated peat.

2; The method of treating peat bogs to extract the water from the peat therein consisting in excavating the bog step by step the desired depth,-then macerating the ex cavated peat and then feeding such peat down into the. cavity, which is continually formed by the ejection of the previously excavated peat, then packing the macerated I peat in such cavity.

3. The method of treating peat bogs to 1-. ihe methodof treating peat bogs to extract the water from the peat therein consisting in excavating the bogstep by step the desired depth, then macerating the excavated peat and then feeding such peat down into the cavity, which is continually formedv by the ejection of the previously excavated peat, then packing the macerated peat-in such cavity, then perforating the newly formed surface of the hog and separating the perforated stratafrom themass beneath; V f 1 The method of treating peat bogs to extract the water from thepeattherein consisting in excavating thefbog step by step the desired depth, then macerating' the excavated peat and then feedingv such peat down into the cavity, which is continually formed by the ejection of the previously excavated peat, then packing the macerated peat in such cavity, then perforating the newly formed surface of the hog, and then separating the perforated strata from the beneath and exposingfthe separated perforated portlons of peat to the an;

WILLIAM. WATSON CAMP. 

